Traffic Zoo Mess in Phinney / Greenwood

The Zoo will be starting up a new event/fundraiser called Wildlights. This is a light show (and other entertainment) that will start November 19th and run nightly through New Years Day. The hours of admission are 5:30 to 8:30 pm. The nightly attendance at this event is unknown. The Zoo estimates 50,000 over the season. Similar events at Tacoma Zoo and Portland Zoo attract many times that number. A similar light show at the Bellevue Botanical Garden also attracts many more than 50,000.

Where will the guests park?

How will the zoo monitor and manage the additional peak hour traffic impacts on major intersections along North 50th St.?

How will the zoo manage ticket sales to control parking impacts over such a long period of time?

How will residents preserve parking near their homes for holiday guests if zoo visitors are expected to use street parking for nearly 40 consecutive nights?

How will the zoo handle complaints about illegal parking or driveway encroachments?

Will this event become permanent?

ALSO the Zoo has requested $2 Million in city funds to expand a parking lot somewhere on the “west” side of the zoo. We don’t have any details about this but presumably this could be an expansion of the existing interior NW lot which was converted from employee parking to paid guest parking. However that lot is only around 80 spaces. The budget proposal refers to 180 spaces. What other park land will be converted to parking? Recall that several years ago the City Hearing Examiner ruled that the proposed 700 stall parking garage was not a legal land use. And the Council passed a Comprehensive Plan resolution banning parking garages from taking over park and open space land. We will ask the zoo for more details about this proposal on Tuesday.

The Phinney Ridge Community Council meeting on TUESDAY Oct 2nd will be of particular interest to all people who live within 4 blocks of the Zoo and / or who use North 50th St. and Phinney Avenue in the evenings.